Roasted red pepper pasta

A big bowl of pasta can cure anything. There’s something about pasta that’s comforting and oh so satisfying. You can pull this together is no time, and you’ll be surprised at all the fresh, delicious flavor it has. It just shows you don’t have to be a master chef or stand over the oven for hours to create an excellent meal. Serve it to your family with a garnish of fresh basil, parmesan cheese, and they’ll think they’re in a fancy Italian restaurant! A glass of red wine doesn’t hurt either 😉

Here’s what you’ll need

• 6 Red peppers (grab organic if you can find it)
• 2 tbsp. Fresh garlic paste (see picture below)
• 8 fresh basil leaves
• 3 tbsp. evoo
• 1 lb of Italian chicken sausage
• 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
• Salt to taste
• pepper
• 6-8 tbsp. grated locatelli cheese
• 1 1/2 cups organic veggie broth
• 2- 12oz boxes of penne brown rice pasta, or regular if that’s what you prefer!(see which one I used below)

1. Preheat your oven to 400, and give the peppers a rough chop, removing the seeds and stem. Place them on a cookie sheet.
2. In a medium size bowl, whisk together your evoo and 1 tbsp. of garlic
3. drizzle the evoo over your veggies, along with about 1 tsp salt and fresh ground pepper.
4. Pop the peppers in your oven for about 20-25 minutes or until they have softened.
5. In a medium sauté pan, brown your sausage. I like to remove it from its casing.
6. Once the sausage is browned, remove it from the pan and set aside. you can turn the burner off.
7. Once your peppers are cooked, you will want to blend them in two batches. I used my nutria bullet, you can use a regular blender or a vitamix.
8. Combine half of the peppers, 4 fresh basil leaves, 3 tbsp. cheese and 1 cup of veggie broth. You want to blend it, leaving it slightly chunky. Repeat that step with the other peppers and the rest of those ingredients. Be sure to get the oils and browned bits off of the cookie sheet 🙂
9. Return the sauce to the same pan you browned the sausage in. Turning the heat to low.
10. Stir, and add in the pepper flakes, sausage and remaining garlic.
11. Now you want to taste it, and salt it to your liking. If you like a lot of garlic flavor, you can always add extra at this point.
12. Simmer your sauce and boil your pasta water. Once your pasta is cooked, drain it and add it directly into the sauce. Stir to combine.

Serve it with a basil garnish and cheese! don’t forget the wine 😉

Oh and there will be leftovers! which is always a good thing.